Seal



L J. DORNHOFER SEAL Filed June 23, 1941 June 29, T943.

Patented June 29, 1943 SEAL Louis .1. Dornhofer, Chicago, Ill., assgnorto Rotary Seal Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of IllinoisApplication .June 23, 1941, serial No. 399,261

(ol. 28s-11) This invention relates in general to seals and sealing andhas more particular reference to the sealing of rotating members, suchas shafts, pipes and the like, for the prevention of the passage offluid along the shaft past a wall or journal through which it extends.

An important object of the present invention is to provide aself-contained seal'unit, including sealing elements assembled in ashell or casing, whereby the device may be merchandised as an integratedunit ready for assembly in sealing position on a shaft.

Another important object is to provide a seal unit of inexpensiveconstruction and, to this end, to provide a device adapted forfabrication substantially entirely of metal parts of simpleconfiguration.

Another important object is to provide a seal for rotating members, suchas shafts and the like, having considerable flexibility or latitude inorder to accommodate inaccuracies in shaft alignment and to afford acertain shaft sealing effect whether the shaft is in true alignment ornot.

These and numerous other important objects, advantages and inherentfunctionsof the invention willl become apparent as the invention is morefully understood from the following description, which, taken inconnection with the accompanying drawing, discloses a preferredembodiment of the invention.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure 1 is a sectional view taken through a seal embodying the presentinvention, the seal being shown assembled in operating position on arotary shaft;

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional seal shown in Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a perspective view of` the several seal parts.

To illustrate the invention, I have shown on the drawing a seal II foruse on a shaft or arbor member I3 in order to seal the same againstleakage along the shaft through an opening I5 in a 'view of the wall I1through which the shaft or arbor member and wall members regardless ofwhether the wall rotates on the stationary shaft or whether the shaftrotates with respect to a stationary wall.

The seal comprises elements assembled and a'housed Within a shell or rimI9 having cylin- I hind the inwardly turned edge 43 Vof the casingdrical side walls 2l and an end wall 23 having an enlarged centralopening to freely receive the shaft. The shell, of course, may be of anysuitable or convenient size, and I prefer to form the same to t snuglywithin 4the opening I5. Within the shell I9 is yieldingly supportedannular seal seat means 25 comprising 'a resilient member 21, preferablyan annular plate of ilexible material such as thin sheet metal. Thisannular plate, at its inner circular edge, is formed to provide anannular groove 29 in which is sealingly secured an annular ring-likeseal ring of relatively soft material, such as bronze, and may besecured in the grooved portion 29 of the flexible plate 21, as bysoldering or brazing. The

plate 21 is preferably mounted in the shell I9 in position overlying theend wall 23, the peripheral edges of the plate 21 being formed to twithin the cylindrical walls of the shell I9. A gasket 28 is preferablydisposed between the peripheral portions of the end Wall 23 and theplate 21, and the plate and gasket are held firmly in place by means ofa cylindrical shell member 33 of a size to fit snugly within thecylindrical walls 2l of the shell I9. The shell 33, at one end, bearsupon and squeezes the peripheral portions of the plate 21 and gasket 29against theend wall 23, and the member 33 is held in place by curling`or peening the edges cf the wall 2I, as at 35, upon the end of theshell 33 remote from the plate 21.

Within the shell I9 is disposed a. sleeve-like casing member 31, formedpreferably of sheet metal, and comprising a cylindrical portion 39adapted force-fittedly to receive the shaft I3.

One end of the portion 39 extends within the seal element 3l, the member31, at the opposite end of its cylindrical portion 39, being formed withan outstanding flange 4I which extends bemember 33. v

In position loosely encircling the cylindrical portion 39 of the member31, an annular cupl shaped member .45 is disposed within the casingcentral opening 53 through which the cylindrical portions 39 of themember 31 extend, the opening 53 being sufliciently large to freelyreceive.

said portions 39. Within the cup-shaped member 45 is disposed a sealingmember 55 preferably comprising resilient rubber-like material, such assynthetic rubber, having elastic properties adapted to grippingly andsealingly engage the seal member'45 and the outer surfaces oi thecylindrical portion 39, the member 55, to this end, comprising anannular flange portion 51 adapted to extend within the cup member d inposition overlying the bottom wall 49 thereof within the annular walls11, the member 55 also comprising a cylindrical portion 59 formed totightly, yet yieldingly, embrace the cylindrical portions 39 of themember v31.

The flange portion 51 of the sealing gasket 155 is snugly pressed intoand retained within the member 45 by means of a spring 5|, 'the springbearing at its opposite ends, respectively, upon the flange portion 4Iof the member 31 and upon the peripheral portions of the gasket flange51 to press the same into the cup member 45, and 'to press the cupmember 45 upon the ring member 3|. A protecting ring or Washer 63 maybeinterposed between the peripheral edges of the gasket flange 51 andthe end of the spring 6I which bears thereon. Likewise, a squeezing ring55 may be applied upon the gasket portion 59 in order to squeeze thesame inwardly upon the cylindrical portions 39 of the member 3l'.

The spring 6| is preferably of helical configuration and is compressiblein the direction of the axis of the helical spring so that the coils ofform a seal between the member 31 and the shaft. The resilient gasket 55forms a sealing and driving grip `between the gasket portion 59 and theencircled cylindrical portion 39 of the member 31. The resilient gasket55 also forms a driving and sealing engagement with the bottom of thecup member at the peripheral edges of the gasket flange 51. Thecup-shaped seal member thus is turnably secured on the shaft through'the driving and sealing effect afforded by the resilient rubber-likegasket 55.

The casing I9, since it forms a driving fit with the walls I 1 withinthe opening I5, prevents leakage between the cylindrical walls 2| andthe wall I1. Leakage between the peripheral edges of the flexible plate21 and the casing I9 is prevented by the gasket 28 and the tight jointafforded by the compression of the gasket and plate between the end wall23 and the member 33. The sealed connection of the ring 3| in the groove29 prevents leakage between the plate 21 and the ring 3| which, it willbe noted, is mounted against turning with respect to the wall I1. Thespring 6| operates not only to compress the peripheral portions of thegasket in the cup 45, but also to thrust the cup member 45 into sealingengagement with the ring 3| to form a running seal or ground jointbetween the finished surface 5I of the member 45 and the facing edge 'ofthe ring 3 I, thereby preventing fluid leakage through said groundjoint.

It will be noted that radial movement of the vgasket 55 contributing to.the maintenance of the sealing effect, since the flexibility of theplate 21 will, to a limited degree, permit the ring 3| to follow anywobble that may be imparted to the member 45 due to misalignment of theshaft, while .the rubber-like gasket itself will yield to minimize theseal-impairing effect of wobbling; that is to say, the effects of shaftwobble are imparted in lesser degree to the member 45 due to theinherent resilience of the gasket member 55. If desired, the bottom wallZ3 may be extended inwardly, as indicated in dotted lines'in Figure 2,to provide a flange 61 overlying the grooved portions 29 .which carrythe ring 3|, in order to afford a sto'p limiting the movement of thering 3|, and if desired, a resilient gasket 69 may be interposed betweenthe flange 61 and the ring 3| to aid in preventing the penetration ofdust t0 the member 3| and nished surface 5I through the bottom wallofthe casing I9.

It is thought that the invention and its numerous attendant advantageswill be fully understood from the foregoing description, and it isobvious that numerous changes may be made in the form, construction andarrangement of the severa1 parts without departing from the spirit orscope of the invention, or sacrific- `comprising a cylindrical shellforming a housing and sized for snug fit in saidy wall opening, a sleevedisposed within said shell and sized for snug t on said arbor, saidsleeve, at one end, having an outwardly extending flange and said shell,at one end, having a co-operating inwardly extending lip overlying saidflange to limit axial movement of the shell in one direction within thehousing, a diaphragm at the other end of the housing comprising a plateof resilient material sealingly secured on the housing at the margin ofthe plate, said plate havinga central opening for accommodating thearbor, a seal ring sealingly secured on said plate at and around saidcentral opening, a co-operating seal element forming a seat for saidring, said seal element having a central opening for accommodating saidsleeve and being mounted within the housing in position encircling thesleeve between the outstanding flange thereof and the said-seal ring,resilient gasket means sealing said seal element upon said sleeve, andspring means extending between the seal element and the outstandingflange of the sleeve and operative tc normally urge' the seal element onthe sleeve in a direction to press upon and form a running seal withsaid ring.

LOUIS J. DORNHO-FER.

